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Fan secures ITTF World Cup crown with victory over compatriot Xu

Fan Zhendong maintained his impressive run of form after he was not included in China's squad for the Rio 2016 Olympic Games by clinching a second straight title with victory over team-mate Xu Xin in the final of the International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) Men's World Cup in Saarbrücken.

The 19-year-old, who underlined his status as a rising star in the sport with a commanding win against Ma Long, the world number one and Olympic champion, at last month's China Open, proved too strong for Xin with a 11-5, 11-6, 11-8, 7-11, 12-10 triumph.

The result saw Fan banish the demons of the 2015 tournament, where he lost out to Ma in the final in the Swedish city of Holmstad.

Following his success, Fan is targeting becoming the dominant name in the sport - a feat which seems well within his reach judging by his recent performances.

"This is a big win for me, it’s my first senior world title trophy, it feels fantastic to win such a big event, I don’t know what to say," said Fan.

"My next goal is to keep improving, I want to be world number one, world and Olympic champion.

"I want to be the best.

"But for now I will just enjoy this victory and then start training again to get better and better."

About the author

Since joining insidethegames.biz, in 2015 Liam Morgan has covered a variety of international multi-sport events and conferences, including the Pyeongchang 2018 Winter Olympics, the Gold Coast 2018 Commonwealth Games and the Lillehammer 2016 Winter Youth Olympics. He also reported from the 2017 IOC Session in Lima and three editions of the FIFA Congress. He graduated from Southampton Solent University in 2014 with a BA First Class honours degree in Sports Journalism.

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Fact of the day

At the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens, Iranian judoka Arash Miresmaeili was disqualified for weighing in at nearly four pounds above the limit for his weight class of his under-66 kilograms match against an Israeli opponent Ehud Vaks in the first round. It was claimed Miresmaeili had gone on an eating binge to protest the International Olympic Committee's recognition of the state of Israel. Iran does not recognise the state of Israel, and Miresmaeili's actions won praise from high-ranking Iranian officials. Mohammad Khatami, the country's President at the time, was quoted as saying Miresmaili's actions would be "recorded in the history of Iranian glories". He was later awarded $125,000 by the Government - the same amount given to Olympic gold medallists.

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